Todd Goad wrote:There are many obstacles to master in order to be proficient with the PSG. I was just curious what scared you the most when you first decided to try and learn this fine instrument, "The Pedal Steel Guitar", and what you may have done in order to get over the hump?
I entered the pedal steel jungle with more wonder than fear. I knew that the part I would have to work at the most was the right hand. I had enough music theory to understand the pedals, and from playing trombone my ear was already connected to a sliding motion, but I’d never used finger picks.
The only scare so far has been the first paying audience, like Tom says. When I play an instrument I really know and things go out of shape I can fall back on instinct and muddle through, but I don’t have that on the steel yet, so no safety net!
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
When I first seriously considered buying a pedal steel, I watched a couple of instructional videos. I was very accustomed to using finger picks so that didn't deter me at all. I had played a little bit of dobro, so using a bar didn't phase me. But watching the feet and knees going on that video had me terrified. Now that I've been playing for nearly a year, the pedals and levers are the easy party. Learning to fingerpick accurately on ten strings is what is killing me.
Buying one! When I started back in 1976, a Sho Bud D10 was $Aust2500, and Landis Music in Park Street, Sydney, had one in their showroom window. I drove two hundred miles, just to look at it. It was the first pedal steel I had ever seen "in the wood".
That was a lot of money back then, and even today, it still is.
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.
The only thing that scares me about the PSG is actually walking away from it for awhile.
When Im trying to learn something and its not clicking the frustration kicks in big time. Ive had a couple moments where I wonder what in the hell Im doing sitting here. Then I remember a few posts of people that walked away from the steel and picked it up a few years later..they have all wondered where they would have been if they would have just stuck it out. That is one feeling I never want to have so that fear keeps me motivated to just keep plugging along.
It hasn't failed me yet..when I run into the wall I just keep at it until I finally get over the hump..which is usually a lot longer than I think it should have happened.
When I had been playing for about a year or so, I went to a steel jam in Bolivar Ohio. When my turn came up, I had to sit right next to Joe Wright! As if that wasn't bad enough, I think the other two players on the stage, were Mike Sigler, and Rick Troyer! Nervous? I felt like Don Knotts! -Jake-
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps
I won't say what scared me the most, it's what still scares me the most. I freeze up whenever I go to show someone a lick I have learned . I will go to either Jim Lindsey of Hal Higgins house, two great masters, who have helped me out. I get a bit a intimidated. Because, these two guys I respect. And I want to do it right. I used to get that way when I was playing in some of the local bands I worked in, during the last 35 years. Anymore, I say to myself, I am only at the house. Or at a place I used to play open-mic at many years ago. It was low pressure, so what if you hit a clinker. You ARE with friends. Jim and Hal both have worked with some of Country music's greats. And I want them to know, I have been working on what they showed me.
How are you. George sell was my pop pop. Him and I were very close. Do you know where I could find one of his GES steels. I would love to buy one to keep his memories around. Please let me know
Learning the steel was a fear, but not too much, as there was the novelty of the situation, too.
To get over that hump, I started focusing on the main strings (3, 4, 5 & 6) only, until I was comfy with chord placement, then added using other strings. Now I am working on other things, fill ins, beginnings, etc.
Really, my biggest fear is learning all of this and yet not finding anyone to play music with.
Butch Mullen wrote:Why are they throwing beer bottles at the steel player???
Hey, Butch, I musta played in the same joint. Leave the steel on stage for tomorrow's gig? Nope.
Confidence is key. I wasn't very good, but I always played steel behind a female vocalist. My nerves settled down when I realized the crowd was watching the pretty gal on the stage, not me.
Get out and play somewhere, anywhere, get paid. 20 bucks will do the trick. Then go home, stand in front of the mirror, and say "I am a professional pedal steel guitar player.
I appreciate your reply's guy's. As it seems, we are all pretty much alike, meaning we had to crawl before we walked and walk before we ran, etc. etc. We are all just at different points in our journey with whatever it is we are trying to learn, in this case being the PSG. It is encouraging to know that you are not alone in learning this beast of an instrument. I was talking to one of my buddy's and he said no matter what you set out to learn you will always have those that will try to help and you will always have those that won't and in some cases they may even try to hinder you. He said its those that try to hurt you that may know very little themselves and are scared you might end up showing them up and then there are those that simply just rather go to their grave than to help someone out in their lifetime. A big thank you to Bob for this Forum and many thanks to all of you who try to help others and share what someone shared with you at some point. TG
I played pedal steel from ages about 13 to 15, at which point I switched to a shiny new MSA SuperSlide for ages 15 to now (21). In the meantime, I've been getting an MSA Classic XL up and running, and it's finally (mostly) playable now.
The thing that's been scaring me the most lately is finding chords. I have a pretty darn good grasp on music theory, so it's been a little frustrating trying to turn that knowledge back into actual playing ability. The other thing is the big discrepancy between my guitar ability and my steel ability. It's so tempting to say "Oh, I'll just play guitar on this gig because it's easy to transport and I'm better at it." I don't really have time in my life right now for lessons (hopefully in a few months), so relearning PSG on my own has been a little overwhelming lately.
If something I wrote can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other one.
Nervous? I felt like Don Knotts! -Jake-
